


And If That Looking Glass Gets Broke

by hauntedlittledoll



Series: Tumblr Fic War [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Return of the Joker
Genre: Gen, Random Movie References for the Win, Random Musical References for the Win
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-08
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-14 08:02:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/834569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntedlittledoll/pseuds/hauntedlittledoll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Goodluckdetective's Prompt: "Jason survives his run in with the joker. Tim is the first Robin who dies. GO."</p>
            </blockquote>





	And If That Looking Glass Gets Broke

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the classic lullaby, "Hush, Little Baby," that Harley sings in "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker."

Babs goes for Harley.  Bruce for the clown, and Jason sprints for Robin.

Scratch that—Jason sprints for his little brother, for Timmy, for the teen that he can still see through the grease paint, hair dye, and awful suit.

He doesn’t look like he’s sleeping.  He looks _dead_.

Jason starts CPR.  Chest compressions … _one … two … three …_

Jason got up close and personal with dead.  He’s on quite intimate terms with the three T’s: torture, trauma, and tears.  Jason _survived_.

… _two breathes and then … one … two … three …_

Jason hung on to Bruce, and to Dick, and to Babs, and mostly to Alfred until his family could pull him back from the dark.  Jason had grown up—all of sixteen years old—and passed on the mantle.

… _keep go-ing … . keep go-ing …_

Joker never could let go of anything.

It only ever takes a minute in the movies, but Robin-training taught Jason that real CPR tended to take a lot longer.

… _don’t stop … don’t stop … don’t e-ver stop …_

He’s not exactly sure when he stops—when it sinks in that Tim’s skin is cold to the touch or that his ribs crack under the force of Jason’s thrusts or that Tim’s teeth were never that perfectly straight, _the f^(%!^ & Joker …_

Jason lashes out, slapping the cheek curved in the hideously fake smile.  “This wasn’t supposed to happen to you, Replacement!  You were supposed to be better than me!”

Tim had spent his childhood preparing—gymnastics, karate, every last advanced class his school offered—but that wasn’t good enough.  Not for Robin, not to succeed where Jason had failed . . . Bat-training, a world-wide field trip, and back-up … always back-up.

Never one without the other … until the Joker stole Timmy away.

Look what good all the training had done them now.

Bruce and the Joker crash in.  Jason covers his brother’s body with his own to protect from the flying debris.

Bruce manages to avoid the knife, and knocks the gun from Joker’s hand.  It clatters nearby.

Jason knows guns.  Bruce frowns upon them, but every Robin in his care learns to handle the weapons, learns to shoot with pinpoint accuracy, learns _respect_ for the great equalizer.

Jason reaches for the gun without leaving Tim.

The shot rang out as the fighters turned, and the Joker falls into the Batman’s arms with a soft noise of surprise.  A dejected little sound that makes the Joker’s final words:  “Not funny.  Not funny at all.”

Jason begs to disagree— _he_ finds it terribly funny.

Bruce raises his gaze to take in his son, crouched over Tim’s body, gun steady in his hand while the rest of him shakes.  Batman has the nerve to look concerned.

“You should have done it,” Jason tells him quietly.  “You should have done it for me . . . and someone needed to do it for Tim.”  Jason glances down at his brother, and then looks at Bruce again.  “And we both know that it wouldn’t be you.”

Jason has just killed a man.  A monster.  A man.

Jason is calm.

He’s not Red Robin anymore.  No, the moment he pulled the trigger, everything changed.  The moment he pulled the trigger, Jason became the Red Hood.

Everyone grows up someday … if they don’t die somewhere along the way.


End file.
